


Boxing Day Sales

by nbtenouharuka



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Christmas, Gen, Overstimulation, So yeah, but lets be honest when are they not a sad boy, going shopping an shit, its sort of a christmas fic, just to clarify uh rose and ten are queerplatonic partners in this, sad boy ten, they arent. romantically involved, uh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 18:01:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17166671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nbtenouharuka/pseuds/nbtenouharuka
Summary: 'She doesn’t feel the same way. She’s fine without you- she probably doesn’t want you around, anyway.'The Doctor shook their head, trying to get rid of the thought. No, Rose was their best friend! She loved them, right?aka: the newly regenerated tenth Doctor gets separated from Rose at a shopping centre. They think a little too much.





	Boxing Day Sales

**Author's Note:**

> hewwo I lov that. ten and rose qpp content a lot

Shopping centres were never really the Doctor’s thing. They were always too loud, too crowded, and there was always too much stuff (yet, ironically, nothing to distract themself with).

 

But when Rose asked them if they would like to come after-Christmas shopping with her and her mum, they said yes, because they’d been holed up in the Tylers’ flat for days recovering from their recent regeneration, and they were itching to go travel somewhere (even if it was just a train ride away).

 

After a short ride on the underground (which was, thankfully, not busy) and a shorter walk, the Doctor and the Tylers found themselves at a relatively large shopping centre, windows filled with glittering Christmas decorations marked with red  _ clearance _ stickers. The Doctor tugged at their ear nervously and followed the Tylers inside.

 

The centre was much warmer than the outside, and the Doctor felt their body temperature rise with their environment. As soon as they entered, hundreds of timelines and smells and voices hit them like a speeding truck. They grabbed onto Rose’s hand and took a deep breath, trying to ground themself. Rose gave their hand a reassuring squeeze as they navigated the crowd.

“So,” they drew out, “what exactly are we shopping for?”

 

“Nothin’ in particular, really. Me n’ Mum just like to shop after boxin’ day cos of the sales.” Rose answered.

 

The Doctor hummed in acknowledgment, looking around at the different stores. 

 

“Do people  _ really _ buy so many sunglasses that they need an entire store for them?” they asked. “I mean, I like a pair of shades as much as the next bloke, but a whole store?”

 

They let go of Rose’s hand and walked up to the window display. Sunglasses of varying styles and sizes were shown with their corresponding prices written next to them.

 

“Four hundred pounds,” they read aloud before turning back to Rose. “That’s quite a lot, isn’t it?”

 

“Yeah. But they’re designer, see?” Rose pointed at the logo on the side of the frames. “That makes ‘em more expensive.”

 

“Why?”

 

Rose shrugged. “Just payin’ extra for a logo, more often than not. Come on, I needta pick up a few things from Boot’s.”

 

Rose turned away from the array of sunglasses and walked away (towards Boot’s, the Doctor presumed), and the Doctor followed. They were still a little overwhelmed, but they felt like they were adjusting well.

 

After walking a few hundred meters, the scent of seawater and fish flakes caught the Doctor’s attention. They turned their head and saw a display window showing off a large fish tank full of colorful tropical fish.

 

Of course, they went to go look. Why wouldn’t they? 

 

The Doctor studied the fish in the tank for a while, enjoying the colors and the different movements they made. When they looked down at the sandy bottom of the tank, they noticed little hermit crabs shuffling along, and they smiled.

 

They looked up to show Rose, only to realise she wasn’t there. 

 

They immediately felt their heartsbeat quicken, and they became more aware of the mess of humans moving about. They took a deep breath, looking around the crowd of people for Rose, but the people were moving like the rapids of a river, and with all of the smells and sounds and timelines they couldn’t focus on finding a single person.

 

Their eyes searched the immediate area, searching for something- anything- just something that would keep them grounded.

 

Their eyes found a bookstore. Those were quiet, right? Quiet and peaceful and full of new book smells…

 

They made their way across the busy hall, flinching every time someone came close to them and muttering quiet “excuse me”s. They heaved a sigh of relief when they entered the store- the stimuli was immediately muted. It wasn’t gone, but it was bearable. The fresh scent of new books filled their lungs, and they smiled, walking through the isles of shelves. Books were always there. No matter how many centuries pass- no matter how many things fade into obscurity- books, good ol’ books, stay. 

 

They found their way to the back of the store and noticed a cozy little nook- several comfortable chairs, a coffee table, and a couple discarded books. They sat down in ont of the old armchairs, leaned back, and sighed, trying their best to relax. 

 

Rose said she was going to a certain store, but they couldn’t remember which one she’d said. They had been too busy looking at the sunglasses- and then the hermit crabs (the thought of said crabs made them smile a bit- they couldn’t help it- hermit crabs were good). 

 

Their mind wandered back to Rose. Rose- that was another thing that always made them smile- was off somewhere in the mall. She probably wasn’t worried about them at all, they were both adults- both of them could handle themselves in a public place- but they didn’t like being separated from her. 

 

_ She doesn’t feel the same way. She’s fine without you- she probably doesn’t want you around, anyway. _

 

The Doctor shook their head, trying to get rid of the thought. No, Rose was their best friend! She loved them, right?   
  


_ She loved the other you. The one you replaced. _

 

But they were still the same person! They always were! They’re still-

 

_Remember Peri? How you and her never got along again after the regeneration?_ __  
__  
Their hearts sank. That was true. Peri had never got on with their sixth self- the regeneration created a rift between them- they argued all the time-

 

But that wouldn’t happen with Rose. It  _ couldn’t.  _ Rose was their closest friend- they would do  _ anything _ for her- they-

 

_ How do you know it’ll be any different? _

 

They held their head in their hands. That was the thing. They didn’t know.

 

They stood up. They needed to be alone, well, as alone as they could be in a shopping centre. They made a beeline for the bathroom and locked themself in, sliding down the wall into a sitting position, knees to their chest. They gripped at their coat sleeves, trying to hold back tears. They were scared. Honestly and truly scared of Rose disliking them. They didn’t know if they could deal with that.

 

After a few minutes they stood up. The Last Of The Time Lords couldn’t mope on the bathroom floor. They were strong, powerful, important. They couldn’t be weighed down by something this  _ trivial _ (but it  _ was _ weighing them down. They couldn’t bear the thought of losing another friend- their closest friend-).

 

They walked over to the sink and gripped it tightly, trying their best to ground themself again. They focused on the coolness of the porcelain- the slow  _ drip  _ of the leaky faucet- the echo it made in the empty bathroom…

 

And they made the mistake of looking up.

 

They saw their face in the mirror- their new face- and looked down again. They couldn’t say in here much longer. As much as they were afraid of what she thought of them, they needed to find Rose. She could take them home- back to the Powell Estate- back to their TARDIS. They splashed some water on their face and hurried out of the bathroom and back into the store.

 

“Ah, there ya are! Figured you’d be here.”

 

They turned towards her voice. She’d been looking for them…

 

“Come on. I jus’ need to get a few more things-” she looked at them and seemed to notice their demeanour. “...or do you wanna go home now?” 

 

The Doctor nodded. She’d been  _ looking _ for them… she  _ wanted  _ to find them...

 

“All right. Let’s go home.”


End file.
